Volunteer and Intern in Medicine in Africa

Medical volunteers interested in Africa are ideal candidates to be medical interns in a hospital or clinic in Africa. Volunteering in Africa is a valuable way to explore the field of medicine. Medical interns in Africa are usually incorporated into the daily routine of the local medical hospital or clinic quickly, where the work can be interesting and varied.

There is a wide variety of departments within the hospitals and clinics that our medical volunteers can investigate while they are interning in Africa. From pharmacology to maternity, you can generally explore whatever subjects interest you most or you find the most challenging.

"My placement at Tetteh Quarshie Memorial Hospital in Mampong was so fulfilling, I only wished I could have stayed on for longer. Throughout the 10 weeks I was there I got to see so many things - the work was quite flexible so there was a chance to see most of the different departments including the Surgical, Maternity, Medical and Paediatric Wards, Outpatients Department, Pharmacy, Physio and the Laboratories."

Medical Internship in Africa

Medical internships in Africa are filled with numerous opportunities for volunteers who are interested in medicine or want to work in a hospital. Volunteers who decide to participate in a medical internship in Africa will have the chance to see medical procedures, help in clinical and hospital work, and gain valuable experience.

Hospitals in Africa are not generally equipped with all the modern equipment that is available in the United States and many other more westernized countries. So for these medical internships a strong interest in medicine and a desire to help others are very important. High school students interested in becoming doctors, pre-med undergraduate college students, medical school students, students who want to take a glide year and doctors are all people who are qualified and wanted for these medical internships in Africa.

High School and College Interns in Medicine in Africa

Students of all academic backgrounds and interests are typically welcome to volunteer as a medical intern in Africa because there are generally no prerequisite courses or experiences. Volunteers who are high school or college students who want to become doctors, are on the pre-med undergraduate track, are in medical school or are taking a glide year before starting medical school might be particularly interested in doing a medical internship in Africa.

Many of the volunteers have found doing medical volunteer work in Africa to be tremendously gratifying. Medical interns are often given the opportunity to care for sick or injured people and to learn new medical techniques that they would not have been exposed to until their second or third year of medical school. Medical internships in Africa give the volunteers the chance to do important volunteer work in countries that need help and possibly obtain new knowledge in medical techniques and practices.

"I am a pre-med student who graduated from University in May 2007. I know the rest of the world has a different system, but in the U.S we have to go to University first before we go to medical school. After graduating, I decided to take a year off before going to medical school. I wanted to do something that would really solidify my motives for entering the field of medicine. My desire to become a doctor originated from a film about missionary doctors in Africa and so, naturally, I decided to take that and make it a reality."

Traditional Medicine Internships in Africa

Medical volunteers who are interested in learning about local medical techniques should consider volunteering for a traditional medical internship in Africa. There are traditional medicine internships available in Africa that combine western style hospital skills with the traditional local techniques. Most volunteers who have grown up and received an education in countries that are westernized have a very different set of medical practices, ideas and skills than those that will be found practiced in the more traditional areas of Africa.

These traditional medical internships will expose the volunteer to a new way of looking at medicine and possibly the world because many of the locals’ medicines have deep roots in their ancient histories and cultural beliefs. Also many of the locals’ more natural remedies have been passed down for many generations which allows the volunteers to perhaps feel a connection to the history associated with the traditional medicines.